De La Salle High School An Evening of Honor: Celebrating the Athletic Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumnus of the Year 2 0 1 6 Induction Ceremony Honorees JOHN D. BAKER ’99 MIKE A. GIBSON ’87 MICHAEL F. HURLBUT ’98 JONNY P. TUCKER ’01 GENOS DERWIN “D.J.” WILLIAMS '00 1998 FOOTBALL TEAM 1997 SWIMMING & DIVING TEAM Distinguished Alumnus of the Year CHRISTOPHER J. CRESPI ’81 A Message from the President As President of De La Salle High School and as an alumnus, I feel a special regard for the honorees whom we welcome today. There is our Distinguished Alumnus of the Year, and there are those entering the Athletic Hall of Fame. And all of these people, who are so dear to us, share certain admirable traits. They have all taken the gifts that God has given them and have used them in service to this community. The student-athletes whom we honor today, both as individuals and as teams, are a prime example. Young as they were, they took on the challenge of being a Spartan, the challenge of not being just good and skilled, but of being responsible and accountable, to their class- mates and teammates, and to their coaches and teachers. They didn’t just shine in athletic competition; they integrated their entire person into the process of their Catholic, Lasallian education. They grew as individuals and students, and they have grown into the men we see today. The Hall of Fame is also a place where the great mentors and supporters of our student-athletes are honored. I want to offer our enduring gratitude also to all of those who nur- ture and support our students in their quest to grow and to excel—all of the coaches, teachers, mentors, supporters, and parents who are committed to our Mission. We say that this school is committed to developing Men of Faith, Integrity, and Scholarship. Today we see the results of that commitment, as we celebrate a fine group of Spartan alumni for the men and woman they have become and the contributions they have made. They thrilled us with their athletic accomplishments in years past, and they truly honor us with their presence today. We are privileged to enshrine all of today’s inductees in our Hall of Fame. Mark DeMarco ’78 President Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award Recipients Each year, De La Salle High School celebrates and recognizes a Spartan alumnus for his efforts to be a Man of Faith, a Man of Scholarship, and a Man of Integrity. In putting out the call for nominations, our Alumni Association seeks to identify an alumnus who during his years after graduation continued to hold these as his core values and who lives a life that exemplifies the spirit of our founder, Saint John Baptist de La Salle. Previous recipients of this award are: ~ Rev. LaSalle Sean Hallissey, O.P. ’69 ~ Bob Montgomery ’70 ~ Hon. Dan O’Malley ’74 ~ Christopher Bruni ’76 ~ Thomas A. Baldacci ’77 ~ Phillip Donahue ’78 ~ Rev. Mark Wiesner ’81 ~ Kelly Trevethan ’81 ~ Nels “Dan” Niemi, ’81 ~ Brigadier General Timothy P. McGuire ’83 ~ Steve Abreu ’83 ~ Stephen Lilly ’93 ~ Sean Farnham ’96 ~ Captain John Louis Hallett III ’97 ~ De La Salle Alumni faculty honored in 2005: Justin Alumbaugh ’98 Brett Anderson ’97 Lou Ascatigno ’74 Matt Castello ’80 Christian Curry ’89 Rick Graham ’90 Bob Guelld ’81 Scott Hirsch ’82 Jim Karas ’95 Leo Lopoz ’94 Jim Olwell ’76 Kent Mercer ’87 Kevin Selby ’91 John Pelster ’87 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year 2016 Christopher Crespi ’81 Chris Crespi, a De La Salle graduate of 1981, is the Alumnus of the Year. Crespi went to UC Davis and graduated in 1985 with a BS in Electrical Engineering, specializing in microwaves, solid states, and quantum electronics. He then received his MBA in Finance and Marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Chris has worked 30+ years in the fields of engi- neering, finance and technology. He was most recently a Managing Director for Banc of America Securities. Chris served on a number of public and private company boards, including Sirenza Microdevices, Optium Corporation, and Ubiquiti Networks. Chris has coached football at De La Salle since 2012. He was also a member of the De La Salle Finance Committee, and has recently been appointed to a member of the DLS Chemistry Faculty. He has two freshmen sons currently attending De La Salle High School. His wife, Marcela Alurralde, and he also have two older daughters, one who teaches elementary school in the Chicago Public School System and one who is a sophomore majoring in Business at the University of Southern California. Chris Crespi is being presented by Bob Ladouceur, Terry Eidson, and Alan Hightman THE 1998 FOOTBALL TEAM. The 1998 Football Team The National Championship 1998 Football Team beat top-ranked Bakersfield and then topped Southern California powerhouse Mater Dei, in one of the biggest high school games in California history. Their dedication and com- mitment to one another were second to none, and they made the 1998 season a perfect season, where they won the NCS title, State Championship, and were ranked first in the nation that year. The 1998 varsity team was arguably one of the best teams in De La Salle football history. THE 1997 SWIMMING AND DIVING TEAM The 1997 Swimming and Diving Team Winners of both the BVAL and the NCS titles, the 1997 Swimming and Diving Team was one of the best in De La Salle history. Five seniors went on to swim at Division I colleges. Several also All-Americans, were on the team. Many of the team members went back to coach swimming and diving including two who have come back and to teach and coach at De La Salle. The 1997 Swimming and Diving Team John Baker ’99 John Baker graduated from De La Salle in 1999 as the class Salutatorian and with a 4.0 GPA. He had a .433 batting average and earned ALL-Bay Valley Athletic League Honors as a junior and senior. He considered Pepperdine, Columbia, UCLA and Stanford before selecting UC Berkeley and majoring in American Studies. Baker was a left-handed catcher who emerged as a top PAC-10 player and was key to Cal advanc- ing to an NCAA regional. He was an honorable mention ALL PAC-10 and honorable mention PAC-10 All-Academic. He continued on to a profession- al career and played for the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and Chicago Cubs organizations. John received the 2009 Heart and Hustle Award from the Florida Marlins. He volunteered for Home for Haiti after the earthquake. In 2011 he recived the Jefferson Award for Outstanding Service by an athlete. He was part of the first Major League group to visit the troops in Iraq. He had a career .260 batting average over 5 MLB sea- sons with the Marlins and the San Diego Padres. He is married to Meghan (Fryer) Baker who is a 1999 graduate from Carondelet. They have two daughters Brooklyn and Fiona. In 2015, he was hired as Baseball Operations Assistant by the Chicago Cubs. John Baker is being presented by David Esquer Mike Gibson ’87 Mike Gibson graduated from De La Salle in 1987. Mike lettered in football, baseball and track. He was one of the all-time great strong safeties in De La Salle football his- tory. He was a tenacious tackler, played in secondary that has the record for most interceptions in a season (28), and was an excellent tight end as well. Gibson was All East-Bay and all Bay Area in 1986. He was athlete of the year and East Bay Cream of the Crop in 1987. Mike went on to play football at UC Berkley and Cal Poly SLO, where he earned a degree in Contruction Managment. After graduating in May of 1987 from De La Salle, Gibson continued to support the school as assistant football coach for the 1987 and 1988 football seasons. He currently lives in San Luis Obispo with his wife Hiedi, 15 year old daughter Grace and 13-year-old son Gannon. Mike Gibson is being presented by Terry Eidson, Bob Ladouceur, Mark Panella ’85, and Tim Roberts ’88. Michael Hurlbut ’98 Michael Hurlbut was a water polo goalie for the ’96-97 seasons where he helped the team to consecutive BVAL titles, back to back NCS tournamnent appearances, was named first team all-BVAL both seasons and was co-captain the ’97 season. He was a soccer goalie for the ’96- 98 seasons and helped the team to consecutive BVAL titles, back to back NCS tournament appearances, was anamed first team all-BVAL in the 98 season, and was a also a co-captain that year. He was also a member of the varsity swim team and part of the varsity volleyball team that won its first of five straight NCS titles. Michael was named DLS Athlete of the Year in 1998, becoming one of the first athletes to letter in four varsity sports in one school year. He went on to Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. where he played one season of Division I water polo in 1998, three seasons of club lacrosse, where he was a two time captain from 1999-2001, one season of club soccer in 1999, one season of club baseball in 2002, and one season of Division I volleyball where the team was a NCAA finalist in 2002. Michael continued on to coach women’s basketball at Pepperdine for the team from 2002-2003, and helped the team to a WCC Champaion ship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournment.